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THIS WEEKEND: The Scranton Mini Maker Faire at Johnson College!!!

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

It’s an exciting time
to live, create and be an artist or maker in Scranton! We’ve been counting down the days until the
Scranton Mini Maker Faire taking place this Saturday October 4th at Johnson
College. Maker Faire has been described as “The Greatest Show (and Tell) on
Earth.” Check out our interview with the Scranton Maker Faire team to hear
all about this fun & innovative experience they have in store for you this
weekend!

What is a Maker Faire and why is now the right time for
Johnson College to bring it to Scranton?

A few individuals at
the College started to hear about the maker movement two years ago and thought
it would a great event for the College to host since our missions so closely
align. We are all about the process of innovation and celebrating the
creative spirit and what better way to do that then host a Maker Faire on the
Johnson College campus. When you think about it, Scranton was founded on
innovation and the whole idea of making things. So it is the perfect
event to bring to the Scranton community and Johnson College is a natural host
based on our history and strong ties to industry and greater Scranton
community.

We love seeing great ideas come to life and know the
Scranton Maker Faire team put a lot of hard work into this. What did it
take to get this endeavor off the ground.

From the beginning
the administration of the College has been extremely supportive of bringing
this event to life! Dr. Ann Pipinski, President and CEO and Katie
Leonard, Sr. Vice President of College Advancement began talking about this
event two years ago. Katie’s dynamic advancement developed the
event. Kathryn Wynn, Development Associate, Janine Tomaszewski, Associate
Director of College Advancement and Sean Ann Kelly, Advancement Specialist have
been instrumental in every aspect of the event. An event like this has so
many moving parts and each staff member used their skills to play a role.
From talking with donors about sponsorship opportunities and the exposure this
type of event would bring their business, Scranton, and the College, to getting
the word out in multiple ways, to making sure the fine details were addressed,
staff have dedicated themselves to making the event successful and enjoyable
for everyone that attends. We also had a great community committee
in place. Members include Kristina Galati, Jam Works LLC, Anthony T.
Marasco, University of Scranton, Elizabeth Davis, Scranton Public Library,
Andrew Monroy, Penn3D, and Christine Medley, The Workshop. The group met
monthly since May to build community involvement and help us connect with
businesses and individuals who align with the Maker Movement.

Maker Faire is described as “The Greatest Show (and
Tell) on Earth.” Can you tell us more about what we will be happening at
the Faire.

All funds raised from this event are going to the Johnson
College’s Innovation and Opportunity Fund. Can you tell us a little more
about this organization?

The Innovation & Opportunity Fund is an internal granting fund that
supports technology, innovation, and advancement initiatives at Johnson
College. For instance – 3D Printing, Advanced Manufacturing, Compressed
Natural Gas (CNG) Curriculum, Sustainability, and much more.The goal of the Innovation & Opportunity Fund is to
spur innovation and creativity on campus and to supply seed money for startup
resources in order to implement those campus-wide innovations. Students and/or
faculty must submit proposals to receive this funding. Applications will
be evaluated based on the value that the initiatives bring to Johnson College
and the community at large.